Looking at the Presidential
debates as from the eyes of the general public, I would say that they do have
an impact on the outcome of the debate, especially this year. In the first
presidential debate, Romney “won” This dramatically increased his numbers in the
polls. So many decided to vote for the Governor based on his performance in the
debate and because of what was said. Many lost hope or support for the
President based on his poor performance. This changed the course of the current
election and will impact the final outcome. I think that many of these people who
changed their minds were the undecided voters. Many diehard supporters of
either candidate would need way more than a debate to sway them.
I think it is a bummer that the presidential debates sway
so many. The debates in themselves seem like a joke to me. After watching them,
I felt no more informed on the issues than I was before. They just seemed to argue,
throw insults and use many words without saying anything. Without prior
understanding of where the candidates stand, the public would not be more
informed after the debates. Thus they are basing their decision to change on
external factors rather than where they stand on important issues.
How did the debates impact your decision? Did they have any
impact?
I totally agree with you. A friend of mine brought up the thought that maybe Obama strategically didn't debate intensely in the first debate so that his second and third debates would be that much more powerful. However, if voters only watched the first debate they might have made their decision and stuck with it, thus not being influenced by the other two presidential debates.
ReplyDeleteAs for how the debates impacted my decision, they really didn't. I had already decided which candidate I would vote for, so I think that I just used the debates as a way of solidifying my choice rather than watching them objectively.